A new music-theatre work to mark the 50th anniversary of The Dismissal and a life-saving grant to and experimental music festival are among the 12 projects funded under Round 2 of the 2024 Arts Activities, it has been announced by Arts Minister Michael Pettersson.

The funding, previous known as project funding, offers between $5000-$50,000 to Canberra artists and arts groups for one-off projects.

John Shortis receives $11,900 for the development of a new music-theatre work to mark the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

Shortis told CityNews he would be working with Moya Simpson, journalist Karen Middleton and WAAPA-trained local actor Lachalan Ruffy on developing a musical show that would look at the responses of real Canberrans to The Dismissal, with development workshops slated for January and the hope of further funding to take the resulting show through to production.

Just in the nick of time, saxophonist and music director Richard Johnson gets $43,296 for travel costs, artist fees and promotion of SoundOut, his festival of improvised and exploratory music that’s held in January each year.

Flautist and ANU music lecturer Sally Walker receives $50,000 for the recording of a new album of Australian Flute Concertos with the CSO, while internationally respected local dance artist Melanie Lane receives $15,000 to support remount costs for the dance piece, Mountain.

Sotirios Dounoukos, the award-winning director best-known for his film, Joe Cinque’s Consolation, gets $17,474 for the workshopping and script development of a new stage play, The Eye, based around Greek immigrant women living in Canberra.

The full list of grants is as follows:

• Sam Vincent to support the research and development of A Nagging Doubt, a new work of literary true crime $37,404.
• Thomas Coen Bonson to develop and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inspired jewellery for exhibition during NAIDOC Week 2025, $45,431.
• Nick Delatovic to support the development of VHSXS, a new two-channel video work in collaboration with Sydney-based artist Daniel Mudie Cunningham $16,820.
• Bridget Baskerville to undertake a residency at ZK/U, Centre for Art and Urbanistics in Germany, $14,890.
• Sally Walker for the recording of a new album of Australian Flute Concertos with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra $50,000.
• Richard Johnson for travel costs, artist fees and promotion of SoundOut, a festival of improvised and exploratory music $43,296.
• Melanie Lane to support remount costs for the dance piece, Mountain, in collaboration with Canberra Theatre, Canberra Symphony Orchestra and Canberra International Music Festival $15,000.
• Gabriel Sinclair for further development of Superposition, an established 30-minute dance piece, working with local and interstate artists and scientists, $31,309.
• Declan Shrubb to host a writers’ room to develop the series pitch document for Code of Conduct, a new black-comedy drama series based in Canberra $31,655.
• Anecdote Games to create a vertical slice for the new digital game, Outpost $49,989.
• Sotirios Dounoukos for the workshop and script development of a new play, The Eye $17,474.
• John Shortis for creative development of a new music-theatre work to mark the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of Gough Whitlam $11,900.

Applications to the first round of $5k to $50k Arts Activities funding for 2025 close on February 28 here